by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

With his future as the National Basketball Players Association's executive director potentially at stake at All-Star Weekend in Houston, Billy Hunter will go on the offensive over the next few days, trying to save his job.

Hunter needs to convince players that the information detailed in the independent report conducted by a New York law firm is not damaging enough to remove him from his position and/or prove that the information in the report is incorrect or misleading. The report contained information that had dozens of interviews and reviewed financial records and e-mails that showed, among other things, that Hunter had hired family members and companies that employed family members, and that he knew his more than $3million contract had not been properly approved.

Today, Hunter and his lawyers will release their report, defending Hunter's record and refuting some findings released in the independent review. The report will address charges of nepotism and questions about his contract.

One of Hunter's attorneys, Corey Worcester of the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, told USA TODAY Sports that Hunter did not do anything wrong according to union bylaws.

"There's no there there," Worcester said. "This is an effort to make zero plus zero plus zero equal one."

Players will meet this weekend to discuss Hunter's future and perhaps vote to determine whether they'll part ways with Hunter, who was placed on administrative leave of absence by NBPA committee Feb.1.

If the players want to fire Hunter, they need a majority vote from the executive committee. They can fire him with cause or without cause. With cause means "embezzlement, theft, larceny, material fraud or other acts of dishonesty," according to Hunter's contract. If they fire him with cause, the union would need to pay Hunter for the remainder of the year and for any accrued or unused vacation.

If they fire him without cause, they would need to pay Hunter the full remainder of his contract. It's unlikely the players would choose to go that route.

Toledo College of Law professor and sports law expert Geoffrey Rapp said the union would likely look at the "acts of dishonesty" phrase because no one has found Hunter committed embezzlement, theft or larceny.

"The real question is, did his failures to disclose rise to the level that we consider other acts of dishonesty?" Rapp said.

Worcester said Hunter did not commit "acts of dishonesty."

Thursday, the law firm of of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, which conducted the study, released a statement saying while Hunter did not engage in any criminal acts, "(his) actions were inconsistent with his fiduciary obligations to put the interests of the Union above his personal interests, and that Mr. Hunter did not properly manage conflicts of interest."

Kyle Korver, the Atlanta Hawks' alternate player representative, told the Associated Press: "I think one of the weaknesses so far at this point has been a lack of communication. I think a lot of us were taken by surprise by a lot of things that supposedly have been found."

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Here is the full statement from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison:

On January 17, 2013, Paul, Weiss published a Report that presented the results of an investigation commissioned by a Special Committee of the National Basketball Players Association (the "NBPA" or the "Union") concerning the current leadership of the NBPA. The investigation concluded that the facts did not show that the Union's Executive Director, G. William ("Billy") Hunter, engaged in criminal acts involving embezzlement or theft of Union funds.

Nevertheless, in our judgment, the facts did show that, at times, Mr. Hunter's actions were inconsistent with his fiduciary obligations to put the interests of the Union above his personal interests, and that Mr. Hunter did not properly manage conflicts of interest. The Report also explained, among other things, that the NBPA's Board of Player Representatives never properly approved Mr. Hunter's current employment contract with the Union as required by the Union's Constitution and By-Laws, that he was aware that his current contract was never properly approved and that he knowingly failed to disclose this information. In addition, the Report identified open questions concerning a purported agreement between the NBPA and Prim Capital, the Union's outside financial advisor. We stated that we would further investigate the circumstances surrounding the purported agreement and promptly present additional findings about it.

We had hoped to complete our investigation of this matter and present a supplemental report to the NBPA before its All-Star Weekend meetings. We understand that the government's investigation of the Union's activities, which we referenced in the Report, is ongoing. Based on our discussions with the U.S. Attorney's Office, we believe that it would be inappropriate for us or anyone at the Union to comment further about outstanding issues at this time. Although we will make a presentation about the Report to the NBPA during All-Star Weekend, we are convinced that disclosing additional findings from our continued investigation now could jeopardize the integrity of the government's criminal investigation, and would be contrary to the NBPA's public pledge to cooperate fully with the government's criminal investigation. We remain in communication with the U.S. Attorney's Office, and we hope that we will be able to provide the Union with additional information at some point in the future. As stated in our original Report, we can make no predictions about either the length or possible outcome of the government's criminal investigation.